This invention relates in general to fishing lures and more particularly to a fishing lure for resembling the action of a frightened minnow fleeing from an aggressor.
Prior art fishing lures have been developed for attracting the attention of fish by use of distinctive reflective and brightly coloured spoons which spin when trolled through the water. Such prior art lines are generally referred to as "flash bait". Additional prior art lures have been developed which use minnow-shaped members (typically formed from balsa wood or plastic) which are shaped such that the lure wiggles when trolling, thereby attracting the attention of or otherwise agitating fish. Such latter prior art lures are known generally in the art as "body bait".
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,892 (Ochs) discloses a fishing lure comprising two plates disposed in substantially perpendicular planes. The plates are bent so as to create a surface having a curve at right angles to the direction of motion. The two plates are connected by means of a stiff wire which maintains the plates substantially perpendicular to each other. This relationship causes a fluttering or wiggling motion of the first plate in a horizontal direction and of the second plate in a vertical direction. The combination of the two motions is set to create a considerable stir in the water which captures the attention of the fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,755 (Sundblad) discloses a trolling lure comprising generally rectangular forward, intermediate and rear sheet material strips of embossed aluminum coloured on opposite sides with a contrasting colour. The lure is joined at one end by a forward conventional swivel to a rudder which in turn is joined to the fishing line, and at the other end is joined through a rear conventional swivel to a leader having a hook or plurality of hooks connected thereto. Each of the strips incorporates an obtuse angle bend, the angles of successive ones of the bends being oriented in opposite directions. In response to trolling the lure through the water, a compound motion is produced by the dihedrally related end portions of each of the strips acting on the water, resulting in a wiggling motion proportional to the speed of trolling.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,228 (Stackhouse) discloses a flash bait fish lure comprising a generally flat member bent along two fold lines at opposite obtuse angles, forming a generally stepped configuration or shape. The obtuse angle bends contribute to execution of a spinning action when trolled at a fast trolling velocity, a flipping action when trolled at normal trolling velocity and a dodging action when trolled at a slow trolling velocity. The spinning action and the flipping action both comprise complete rotation of the lure about an axis extending along the direction of trolling motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,253 (Hess) teaches a fishing tackle comprising a piece of thin sheet material having four attachment points located near the edges and arranged to form the corners of an equilateral figure, and four vanes, each extending from a surface of the piece parallel to the line of adjacent attachment points, alternate vanes extending from opposite surfaces of the piece. Each of the four vanes acts in imparting a spinning motion to the lure when it is pulled through the water by a line connected directly or indirectly to one of the attachment points. The fishing tackle of Hess provides a spinner whose colour and action are changeable by the mere changing of position of one or more spinner elements in the lure, thus making it unnecessary for the fishermen to purchase more than one spinner to secure a variation of effects which are attractive to fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,067 (Tidwell) discloses a stepped fish lure in which the leading portion of the lure is positioned in a plane spaced above the trailing portion and in which the leading and trailing portions are connected with a step providing a definite break between the two portions, whereby in retrieving the lure which has a tendency to move laterally in the water, the lure spins in a clockwise direction as it moves toward the right side and in a counterclockwise direction as it moves toward the left side.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,787 (Krogue) discloses a fish lure comprising an elongated plate having straight front and rear transverse edges and bevelled corners, the plate including a flat intermediate portion, a forwardly and upwardly extending front portion and a rearwardly and downwardly extending rear portion, the intermediate front and rear portions having straight lateral edges, and a pair of flat tongues struck out from the respective front and rear portions of the plate in constituting longitudinal and coplanar continuations of the respective front and rear ends of the intermediate portion, the tongues being provided with apertures for attachment to a fishing line and a fish hook leader respectively. The configuration of the Krogue fish lure is particularly adapted to attracting large fish in that axial rotating movement is eliminated and replaced by travel in a zig-zagged path for creating an intense visual impression on the fish.
All of the above-discussed prior art patents disclose flash bait fishing lures comprising plate sections or spoons of various configurations which coact or cooperate to produce spinning or wiggling motion which is intended to attract the attention of fish. Predetermined ones of the prior art patents contemplate a specific wiggling movement of the lure for mimicking the swimming motion of a fish in distress.
However, none of the above prior art lures combine the specific advantages of flash bait lures with the enhanced swimming action of a body bait lure.